Major renovation transforms 50 years old industrial hall with the help of RubberGard EPDM SA
Cargobeamer, a German company specialized in the manufacturing of freight wagons, was looking for a production hall with a railway connection. After considering other options, Raildox - another German freight transport company- suggested an old industrial hall in Erfurt, built in the 1970s. With a perfect location close to the city center, on a connecting railway line and with enough space for large cranes, the building offered ideal conditions for Cargobeamer.
| Project ID | |
|---|---|
| Location | Erfurt, Germany |
| Project type | Renovation |
| Building type | Industrial building |
| Roof surface | ca. 4,000 m2 |
| Product used | RubberGard EPDM SA
|
| System used | Fully adhered |
Major roof renovation
However, a number of significant renovation works still needed to be done, particularly on the roof. The building had stood empty for a long time and there were small cracks in the concrete roof deck that needed to be addressed. On top of that, the large skylight dominating the roof of the production hall was leaking everywhere.
The initial plan was to tear down the 75-meter-long skylight and simply close the roof. “We finally decided to keep the skylight and completely renovate it, because otherwise the building would have lost its character,” says Frank Rudolf, Raildox founder and owner of the building. The roof was therefore completely rebuilt, so that the skylight remained and continued to supply the hall with daylight.
Fast and efficient waterproofing
For the roof sealing, a bituminous vapor barrier was first laid on the new concrete roof deck, followed by Elevate ISOGARD AK 120 mm thick PIR insulation boards. The insulation was fixed to the vapor barrier using Elevate’s I.S.O. Twinpack PU adhesive. One special feature of this adhesive is that it hardens in just eight minutes so, within a short time, several hundred square meters of insulation panels were attached.
The client chose Elevate RubberGard EPDM SA as roofing material. This new self-adhesive EPDM roofing membrane significantly sped up installation, which could be finished in a week. This completely flame-free, fully-adhered attachment method also avoided having to drill into the concrete deck.
Frank Rudolf is happy with the results: “The hall had been empty for a long time before we bought it. Rain was pouring through the roof - it wasn't a pretty sight! But the hall had a fantastic structure that was worth renovating. Breathing new life into this 50 year old building has been simply great.”
Cargobeamer assembles about 550 freight wagons every year at their renovated production hall in Erfurt.
